Small Business Administration eager to help start ups

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - The Federal Small Business administration is looking to match you up with a bank to get a loan for that business you've always wanted to start up.

Florist Dan Kennedy has been gearing up for Valentine's Day for months, ordering 12,000 roses, taking more than a thousand pre-orders, and expecting 700 others throughout the day.

Kennedy bought Sawyer and Company in 2000, then Harmon's and Barton's in 2007, but it was the acquisition of Minott's in 2011 that needed some help getting off the ground.

The Small Business Administration and Katahdin Trust, provided Kennedy the $65,000 he needed to purchase Minott's Flowers. Kennedy says that in turn, provided more jobs and services to people in Greater Portland.

Jeanne Hulit, the Northeast director of the SBA, says it offers anywhere from very small loans to 5 million dollar loans because small businesses are the backbone of the nation's, and especially Maine's, economy.